What gives? I know all Israelis aren’t Jewish and all Arabic speakers are not Muslim. But Israel is still a Jewish garrison state surrounded by mostly hostile Muslim countries.

It’s a cultural thing, says Israeli Ministry of Education Dr. Shlomo Alon. “Studying Arabic will promote tolerance and convey a message of acceptance” of the country’s minority but fast-growing Arab population. Tolerance? is that like empathy?

Israelis know how to make the desert bloom, so are they right about the social melting pot thing?

Here in the U.S., we’re slamming chests hard over stricter immigration laws in Arizona and potential repeal of the 14th Amendment giving citizenship to stateside-born kids of illegal immigrants, both aimed at people from south of the border. There has also been a lot of screeding about how Latino immigrants in particular should be required to learn and speak English, dammit.

But are all those things moving in the right direction, or just postponing reconciliation and ignoring actuarial tables on what some demographers say could be a Golden State (Estado Dorado) Hispanic majority here by 2020?

Right now, the percentage of Arabs in Israel: 20.

Right now, the percentage of Hispanics in California: 37.

So, should we follow Israel’s lead and make Spanish language classes mandatory in California public schools?

Let us know your thoughts. And if you have any questions, we’ll take them to politicians on both (all) sides and post the responses later this week.